Boris Asaf'ev and the Soviet Musicology - E-thesis

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origin; Asaf’ev took only some parts of different philosophies and he was generally interested only in single thesis.” 16 This is true although it doesn’t reduce the fact, that Asaf’ev was a modernist or a “formalist” in Soviet terms. Asaf’ev more or less implicated different theories and views and made synthesis so that one cannot trace one author or theory that had more power over him than another. His original philosophical influences are well hidden in his later production. That was maybe one of the reasons to why he had the position he did in the Soviet musicological field. However, what is the difference whether Asaf’ev quoted modernists’ texts literally or not; the core of his thought was nevertheless created in their philosophical sphere. Orlova’s words raise thoughts that in 1970s Asaf’ev most evidently belonged to those generally accepted figures, even whose youth straying could be neutralized and forgiven. Frankly speaking it was necessary to do so in order to portray the heroic history of loyal communists and explain logically the adoption of past achievements into present use. The biographical material used here could be divided into three parts: 1. Asaf’ev’s personal reminisces and letters which are published in special collections during the Soviet era; 2. the biography by Orlova & Krjukov and its side material: memoirs by contemporaries and article collections edited by the same authors and 3. Western sources, 17 as for example the biography by Richard Tull (1976). Since Western sources lock the Marxist-Leninist propaganda, they tend to be more critical. The seeming advantage of Western scholars that they have been more independent of the ideological burden than Soviet scholars, has often led to a polarization. The culmination of such polarization may be found in the study of Šostakovič 18 . Nevertheless, the factual side of the Western articles written on Asaf’ev derives from the Soviet sources. Therefore, they do not offer more reliable biographical information despite interesting interpretations. Thus, the biography given here offers only approximate information. 16 Orlova in Asaf’ev: Simf.E 1970, p. 6. 17 Available Western sources about Boris Asaf’ev are to be found for example from Schwarz [1972] 1983; Tull 1979; McQuere 1983; Young 1998, Haas 1992, 1998; Taruskin, 1997. 18 The latest book on the subject is by Brown, Malcom Hamrick (eds.) A Shostakovich Case Book. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, cop. 2004. The most famous debate has been between Laurel E. Fay and Solomon Volkov, which has continued since 1980s. 7
The Chapter Four and Chapter Five focuses on Asaf’ev’s most essential works in chronological order and his philosophical and aesthetical concepts. I try to expose the development of his literary production and along with it, the development of his aesthetical terminology and philosophical concepts. Asaf’ev’s aesthetical concepts have been studied mostly in the former Soviet states. Important articles on the development of his aesthetic theory can be found in Dmitrij Kabalevskij (1952), (1954); Lev Mazel (1957); Arnol’d N. Sohor (1961); Jaroslav Jinárek (1967), (1972); N. G. Šahnazarova (1966); Vladimir Zak (1982) and Elena Orlova (1964), (1984); and in the West in Richard Tull (1977); Gordon MacQuere (1983) and in David Haas (1992), (1998). The background of this study consists of musicological studies at the University of Helsinki (1999–) and Russian and Eastern European Studies in Renvall Institute and in Aleksanteri Institute in Helsinki. I spent a fruitful exchange student year (2003–2004) in St. Petersburg studying at the Philological Faculty of the St. Petersburg State University and living as an exchange daughter in an extraordinary kind and cultured Russian family. On the same semester I visited the archive called RGALI, or “ Russian State Archive of Literature and Art” in Moscow, then in “The Musical Archives named after Glinka” in Moscow, as well as in “The Institute of Arts and History” in St. Petersburg and consulted some Russian specialists on the matter. All translations in this work are translated by me if not other vice mentioned 19 . 19 The Note on Transliteration reminds on back. 8
Page 1 and 2: ORIS aSAF’EV AND THE sOVIET mUSIC
Page 3 and 4: 5.2 The Second Literary Period: Int
Page 5 and 6: the aesthetical and musico-theoreti
Page 7 and 8: Haas has noted: he used “shaky an
Page 9: “leftist” 11 mark on his works
Page 13 and 14: The younger generation, Aleksander
Page 15 and 16: them to some degree in 1918-1919, h
Page 17 and 18: produced’, or as ‘the socialist
Page 19 and 20: conservative writers. 43 This aspec
Page 21 and 22: authorities and formulators of soci
Page 23 and 24: control the society according to th
Page 25 and 26: and “neo-nationalist” Igor Stra
Page 27 and 28: “mass songs” with ideological t
Page 29 and 30: possible. As a composer you could n
Page 31 and 32: thoughts is to be given, living tra
Page 33 and 34: confusingly obscure and dependent o
Page 35 and 36: Table 3. HISTORICAL FORMATION Histo
Page 37 and 38: 3. BORIS VLADIMIROVIČ ASAF’EV’
Page 39 and 40: Iskusstvo (The World of Art) 108 an
Page 41 and 42: ”Soblazny i preodolenija” (Temp
Page 43 and 44: can one compare these works with th
Page 45 and 46: Soviet Composers. The new directora
Page 47 and 48: Asaf’ev emphasized musicology as
Page 49 and 50: content of musical art. 162 McQuere
Page 51 and 52: A cause of many negative traits was
Page 53 and 54: 4. THE FIRST LITERARY PERIOD OF BOR
Page 55 and 56: aesthetically and not according to
Page 57 and 58: ecause of his personal gifts. 191 L
Page 59 and 60: when exploring the “Symbolists’
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Asaf’ev’s writing contains same
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As Orlova has noted Lipps has a cle
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manifested, for instance, in Byzant
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constructed in the circumstances of
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distorted the phenomena of continui
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motion 248 . Losskij wrote that acc
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In his critic Losskij writes that o
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According to Asaf’ev, to perceive
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continuity. 267 In order to underst
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consciousness inherent in the ordin
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orthodox that one may even question
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Russian operas. He concentrates on
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from the sphere of elements; elemen
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somekind of “liturgical” interp
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They contain views that were typica
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forties towards the Soviet cultural
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also to Realist tradition 332 . He
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5. MUSICAL FORM AS A PROCESS AND TH
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verbal intonation because of the ab
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The discussion of a content of musi
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Works) (1952-1957). However, it was
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100 phenomena into the area of arti
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102 distinction is largely semantic
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104 verbal speech had no need for i
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106 be Asaf’ev’s topmost idea.
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108 of 1940s. Was that his way of h
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6. CONCLUSIONS 110 My Chapter of co
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112 Chapter Five concludes that alt
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List of some of the Notable Works o
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116 ASM (Associcija Sovremennoj Muz
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Berg, Alban (1885-1935) Austrian co
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Javorskij, Boleslav (1877-1942) gra
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Ostwald, Wilhelm (1853-1932) German
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Trotskij, Lev Davydovič (born Bron
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Asaf’ev, Boris V. Russkaja živop
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Tull, James R. B. V. Asaf’ev’s
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Harrison, Charles & Wood, Paul. Art
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Reader, Melvin, ed. A Modern Book o
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